NK developing weapons to neutralize U.S. military dominance: Gates

North Korea, China and Iran are developing weapons to neutralize the global military dominance the U.S. has enjoyed since the end of the Cold War, the chief U.S. defense official said Friday.

"One of the ways that spectrum will broaden is with the emergence of high-end asymmetric threats," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon.

"Indeed, looking at capabilities that China and others are developing -- long-range precision weapons, including anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles; quieter submarines; advanced air defensive missiles -- and what the Iranians and North Koreans are up to, they appear designed to neutralize the advantages the U.S. military has enjoyed since the end of the Cold War: unfettered freedom of movement and the ability to project power to any region across the globe by surging aircraft, ships, troops and supplies," he said.

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